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Perimeter of a Trapezoid

Introduction

The perimeter of a trapezoid can be described as the distance around all four sides of the trapezoid. The green box around the rectangle below indicates the perimeter of the trapezoid.

Terms

Trapezoid - A quadrilateral with only one pair of parallel sides
Perimeter - The distance around all the edges of a geometric figure.

Lesson

The perimeter of a trapezoid can be calculated by adding the lengths of all the sides together. So if we are given a trapezoid with sides 12, 14, 10 and 8, the perimeter would be $12 + 14 + 10 + 8 = 44$.

Examples

Perimeter of a Trapezoid (Example #1)

Perimeter = Top + Side1 + Bottom + Side2
$\text{Perimeter} = 14 + 10.2 + 10 + 10.2$
$\text{Perimeter} = 44.4$

Perimeter of a Trapezoid (Example #2)

Perimeter = Top + Side1 + Bottom + Side2
$\text{Perimeter} = 15 + 12.17 + 12 + 11.28$
$\text{Perimeter} = 50.45$

Perimeter of a Trapezoid (Example #3)

Perimeter = Top + Side1 + Bottom + Side2
$\text{Perimeter} = 14.9 + 9.08 + 12.7 + 9.06$
$\text{Perimeter} = 45.74$

Perimeter of a Trapezoid (Example #4)

Perimeter = Top + Side1 + Bottom + Side2
$\text{Perimeter} = 13.4 + 10.09 + 14 + 10.25$
$\text{Perimeter} = 47.74$